Black Gold 1983

When we came out of the dugout, it was already completely dark.

It gets dark early in the first month of the lunar calendar; you can't see anything before six o'clock.

A few dim lights shone from the direction of the distant mining area, creating a desolate and lonely atmosphere.

But Renye fell in love with this atmosphere. Having grown accustomed to neon lights and extravagant lifestyles in his previous life, he found the moon in the 1980s to be even brighter.

I rode that old-fashioned bicycle back along the bumpy dirt road.

The wound on the back of my head still hurts. I touched it with my hand and found that the blood had dried and a thin scab had formed.

He was still wondering how to explain it to Li Yue'e when he got back, but when the old-fashioned bicycle turned into the Hongxing family compound, Renye happened to run into Li Yue'e wearing a worn-out cotton-padded jacket and standing under the street lamp at the entrance of the compound.

"Mom? What are you doing here so late at night?"

Seeing that Renye had finally returned, Li Yue'e grabbed his arm while cursing.

"You're finally back! Come quick, come with me!"

"What's wrong?" Renye was pulled so hard that he stumbled.

"Something's happened!"

Renye's mind went blank.

"Sui'er's dad got into a fight at the mine and is in the mine hospital now!"

"fight?"

Renye understands that although Tian Mancang has a bad temper, he has principles and knows what is important. He never argues with people easily, let alone fights in public. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to stay in the position of captain of the third coal mining team for so many years.

"I'm not quite sure either! They just got back this afternoon and were dragged to a meeting at the mine!" Li Yue'e said, pulling him along as they walked.

"I heard from your uncles that the mine bought a batch of... something-or-other drum mining machines from the Jixi Coal Mining Machinery Factory this year. They said they're going to set up fully mechanized work teams and cut one mining team!"

"Your Uncle Mancang's team three and Zhao Dehai's team four, only one of them can be guaranteed a spot. They started fighting over that one spot!"

Renye frowned.

He really didn't remember this incident, because at this time in his previous life, he was already in a detention center.

However, he was very familiar with the drum coal mining machines produced by Jixi Coal Mining Machinery Plant.

In the mid-1970s, Jixi Coal Mine Machinery Plant investigated the German EDW170-L double-drum coal mining machine. Based on this, it independently developed the first mature domestic double-drum coal mining machine, MLS3-170, which became the most advanced main fully mechanized mining machine in China in the early 1980s.

However, the introduction of equipment will inevitably be accompanied by the elimination of old teams and personnel adjustments. After all, a mechanized coal mining team with a coal mining machine and a small number of technicians can produce the same output as a purely manual coal mining team of 40 to 60 people.

This is the growing pain of state-owned enterprise reform, and also an inevitable trend in the development of the mining industry.

"How badly are you injured?" Renye gestured for Li Yue'e to get into the car.

"It's pretty serious. They said he had a cut on his head and needed several stitches!" Li Yue'e jolted in the back seat and quickly grabbed his clothes. "What kind of mess is this? We haven't even gotten over the trouble from the other day, and now this happens again."

Renye stopped asking questions. He knew this matter was definitely not that simple. He pedaled the old bicycle so hard it felt like it was about to fall apart. Li Yue'e on the back seat kept shouting for him to slow down, but Renye couldn't slow down at all.

It takes twenty minutes to cycle from the family compound to the mine hospital, but he managed to cycle there in just over ten minutes.

The mine hospital is a three-story red brick building. The sign at the entrance reads "Jincheng Mining Bureau Hongxing Mine Staff Hospital" in large characters, and most of the copper-gold paint has peeled off.

Renye threw his bicycle at the door and then rushed into the emergency room with Li Yue'e.

There were already quite a few people standing in the corridor.

Some of the workers from the third coal mining team hadn't even had time to change out of their work clothes, and their faces were still covered in coal dust. They squatted silently against the wall.

Not far away, several family members were wiping away tears, and behind them were several security officers who were quietly asking two workers what had happened. The atmosphere was somber.

Tian Sui'er stood at the entrance of the emergency room, wearing a dark blue cotton-padded jacket, her hair casually tied back, her eyes red-rimmed, staring straight at the closed door of the emergency room.

And standing next to her was a person.

The man was facing away from Renye, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a dark gray woolen overcoat, which was considered quite respectable at the time.

He was not short, with broad and flat shoulders, and stood straight. One hand was placed behind Tian Sui'er in a protective gesture, without touching her, but the posture itself carried a sense of understated intimacy.

Renye paused for a moment.

Even if he were reduced to ashes, he would still recognize this person.

Xu Dongsheng.

Renye stood at the other end of the corridor, seven or eight meters away, watching Xu Dongsheng standing next to Tian Suier, and felt as if something had ripped out of his heart.

In her past life, if it weren't for this bastard in front of her, Tian Sui'er would never have ended up taking her own life.

Although Xu Dongsheng had been tormented to the point of wishing he were dead in his previous life, seeing that gentle yet hypocritical face again still stirred up uncontrollable anger in his heart, making him want to lash out on the spot.

But when he saw Tian Sui'er looking worried in front of him, he forcefully suppressed all his surging anger and resentment.

"Ono? What are you standing there for? Let's go!"

Li Yue'e had already walked several steps when she turned around and saw her son standing motionless in the middle of the corridor. She called out anxiously.

Renye slowly loosened his fist, took a deep breath, and quickly followed.

Only when you get closer can you see Xu Dongsheng's expression clearly.

His face was filled with just the right amount of concern, not too much, not too little, exactly what one would expect when "my woman is in trouble."

Xu Dongsheng saw Li Yue'e first and nodded slightly: "Aunt Yue'e".

Then, his gaze shifted and landed on Renye, and he was somewhat stunned.

The two stood a few steps apart in the corridor filled with the smell of disinfectant, silently gazing at each other.

They saw something in each other's eyes, something they had never seen before, something that could only be understood but not spoken of.

After a long silence, Xu Dongsheng spoke first with a smile: "Ah Ye is here too?"

His expression was calm and natural, as if the embarrassment of his engagement party being ruined in public a few days ago had never happened.

Renye looked at him and smiled.

There was little warmth in that smile, perhaps because the light in the corridor was too dim, or perhaps for some other inexplicable reason.

"Dongsheng-ge," Renye called out, his tone the same as before, even with a touch of nonchalance, "You came pretty quickly."

Xu Dongsheng also grew up in the Hongxing Family Compound. He was a few years older than him and Tian Suier. The peers who grew up together in the compound would call him Brother Dongsheng, and Renye was no exception.

"I happened to be at the mine," Xu Dongsheng explained, his tone unhurried. "My dad told me that Uncle Tian had an accident, so I rushed over. I was worried about Sui'er being here alone."

worried?

These two words were spoken lightly, but they sounded particularly harsh to Renye.

In the past, his dissatisfaction would probably have been written all over his face, but things are different now; he is no longer the naive young man he once was.

Ren Ye remained expressionless, simply nodding before turning his gaze to Tian Sui'er.

"Sui'er".

Tian Sui'er looked up at him, her eyes still wet with tears, her eyelashes glistening with moisture.

When Renye looked at her, all his defenses crumbled in that instant.

He composed himself, deliberately suppressing all his heaviness, and intentionally adopted a relaxed demeanor, saying:

"Oh, don't cry. Uncle Mancang is as strong as an ox, what's a couple of stitches? I'll make him a pot of pork ribs to nourish him, I guarantee he'll be even stronger than before he got beaten up!"

After saying that, she winked at Tian Sui'er in a cheeky way.

"Hey! Can't you talk properly, kid!" Li Yue'e slapped Ren Ye on the back, making him howl in pain.

Tian Sui'er rolled her eyes at him, and was about to say something when her gaze suddenly froze.

She stared at Renye's collar, her brows furrowing immediately: "What happened to you?"

Renye looked down and saw a dark red stain on the collar of his cotton-padded jacket. It was half-dry and not very clear in the dim light of the corridor, but anyone with eyes could tell that it wasn't mud.

Tian Sui'er reached out to pull down his collar, her voice suddenly tightening: "This...this is blood, isn't it? Are you injured?"

Li Yue'e had already taken two steps forward to ask about Tian Mancang's situation when she heard this and suddenly turned around. She leaned closer to Ren Ye and her expression immediately changed.

"Oh my god!" Li Yue'e grabbed Ren Ye's arm, dragged him under the corridor light, brushed the hair from the back of his head, and gasped, "How did you get such a big gash? Did you get into another fight?!"